The Chicago-based Poetry Foundation announced Monday the 91-year-old Ponsot has been awarded the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize.

Ponsot has written six books of poetry and translated more than 30 books from French into English. Her previous honours include the Robert Frost Poetry Award and the National Book Critics Circle award.

The Ruth Lilly prize was established in 1986. Richard Wilbur, Philip Levine and John Ashbery are among the previous winners.